DO Emporda Wine Route-Wine Taste Your Way Around

In the Province of Girona in Catalonia, you will find many treasures, amongst them the DO Emporda Wine Route. The Emporda D.O. Wine Route gives you the opportunity to discover the wine-making secrets of the region, appreciate its history and spend time in magical settings. It’s also a great way to immerse yourself in the gastronomic identity of the area. In the region of Empordà, there has been a gastronomic movement headed up by people like Ferran Adrià, which combines the nouvelle cuisine with the traditional dishes of the area. Of course these are all wonderfully complemented by the region’s Empordà D.O. (D.O. = destination of origin) wines.

In case you’re not familiar with the area, it has a number of breathtaking coves and beaches, medieval villages, Romanesque art, Gothic architecture and almost endless culture and history. On top of all this, you can also visit the towns that make up the Dali triangle – and follow in the footsteps of the genius Salvador Dali, in Cadaques, Figueres and Púbol.

It’s a dramatic, unique setting with some strikingly beautiful natural areas, and landscapes that link the mountains to the sea. The winemaking tradition of the area, can most likely be dated back to Roman times, but most certainly to Greek times. You can also find some interesting megaliths and menhirs in the Empordà. All of these ingredients are made even tastier when you add in the fishing villages, friendly locals and numerous festivals.

DO Emporda Wine Route – The Vineyards, Climate & Soils

The climate here is particularly suited to growing vines which are not quite so harsh as some wines from the south, yet are good quality wines. Although the region experiences hot summers, these are cooled with sea breezes. Of course the temperature drops during winter time, but the area tends to get few frosts. Each year there is approximately 600 litres of rainfall, and the temperature yearly average is between 14°C and 16°C. The Tramontane plays a big part in the climate of this area. It is a northerly winds, that can be extremely strong and actually sometimes have gusts over 120 km/h and is very beneficial for the health of the vines.

Much of the land of the area has soils which are acidic, with low content of the organic materials, and sandy textures. On the plains we find alluvial soils, and in the mountain areas soils are granitic and somewhat slatey. The soil of the region is perfect for quality wine-making.

The vines in the vast majority of the vineyards are older, often over 30 years of age. As you may know older vines are known to produce high-quality wines. Over the years improvements have been made to the wine-making techniques.

To see a full wine catalogue, as well as the features and vintages go to the official DO Emporda website.

Tourist Offices

Further below is a list of all the wineries and the associated tourist offices/town councils for these towns and villages. If you wish to find out the options before travelling you could make the local tourist office your first point of contact. Of course there are also companies that provide tours, some of these done with a little bit of a twist. The next section highlights some of these, mainly chosen as they appear to have received approval from the main Costa Brava tourist authority. Please note that the time of writing the first draft of this article, we have not taken any of these tours ourselves, and therefore cannot make any personal recommendations.

Wine Tour Companies

Figueres and close by

The first few companies are based in, or close to Figueres, although some of their routes may start off in other locations. Figueres is an interesting city in its own right, as well as being home to the Dali Theatre Museum, which is part of the Dali triangle.

Viemocions – Culture of Wine – 934 877 626

A travel agency that specialises in wine tourism, Viemocions can give you an in-depth insight into the region’s wine culture and the people behind it. They have an interesting range of options, for example of wine medieval route on bike, and they can also tailor routes and events to suit your own needs.

This company has been running for over 10 years, and promotes and organises tours for the social, natural and cultural heritage of the area. They can guide you through discovering the world of the local wine heritage, and bring you to a variety of wineries. Terramar are based in Vilabertran, which is not far from Figueres, about 6 km.

Thanks Iain 🙂 Glad you liked it. There will be more of these coming soon, as well as some of the Cava tours that can be done. Both great ways to drink in the local culture, in a very civilised manner indeed! 🙂

This makes me very happy – and the bike wine tour is a good one, something popular in South Africa and such a good way to get around the region. With such beautiful coastline a great idea for a relaxing few days away!

What a great resource you’ve put together here! Anywhere with a wine route gets my vote, and if it happens to be in somewhere like Spain or South Africa, then so much the better! It certainly whets the appetite for our trip later this year 🙂